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Another one will come

If you have ever been on a NYC subway you are bound, at some point to run into a preacher of some type. And this is so common place that no one really pays them any mind. But the other day while I was on my way home a Jamaican lady got on the train and sat directly in front of me. she was quietly singing to herself praises of the lord, while trying to start simple conversations with those around her. She didn't seem to mind that she was being ignore, she just kept on smiling and singing to herself.

on the next stop she got up and tried to transfer to another train across the platform, but that train pulled away before she even had a chance to get off.

"oh, Lord I've missed my train" she said with a smile. "That's ok, another one will come. That's how we should look at life. Another one will come."
She said this as she got off the train.

If we can stay open to life, without adding or subtracting what we like and do not like, if we just stay open, literally everyone and everything is expounding the dharma. Every moment, every encounter, is It. Whatever It we are looking, or not looking for, or looking to not look, or which ever way we feed it to ourselves.
no need to put anything down, because there is nothing we can hold on to anyway.

This is great. Thank you for sharing it. Teachers are available to us everywhere if we are willig to drop the image/expectation of what a teacher "should be" or "looks like." Spaciousness and openness to all that life has to offer. Nothing to do with Zen.... Zen has nothing to do....

Deep bows
Yugen

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Please take all my comments with a grain of salt - I am a novice priest and anything I say is to be taken with a good dose of skepticism - Shodo Yugen

Everything I've posted today I've deleted.. .. must mean it is time for a board break. But I'll leave this gentle burp in the church if may, and not delete it..

There is no special wisdom in the subway lady's statement. If anyone said that to anyone else at the kitchen table.. the response would be a mild nod of agreement with the obvious.

There is a really interesting phenomena that was illustrated in a Woody Allen movie called "Crimes and Misdemeanors". Woody plays a documentary filmmaker, and one of his subjects is a professor of philosophy. This professor's output consists of statements like "Everybody needs love". They are perfectly ordinary observations, but Woody is deeply impressed with this man's wisdom. It is not what is being said that makes such an impression. It is the who, the how, and the where, that makes it sound especially wise..... a kind of social context lens. The words were spoken by a professor of philosophy.. with a thoughtful Yiddish accent... in a slow careful way.
So much of Zen seems to be like that.. perfectly ordinary wisdom, the kind that we hear plenty of on a normal day... becomes a dew drop of wisdom when spoken or posted in a Zen context. This is something I have noticed much of lately, online and offline.. and this is not meant as a criticism. It is just seeing and appreciating the magic of Sangha.

All the best to the lady on the subway, and I hope her train didn't take too long.

In parts of the world burping and belching is a sign of appreciation for a good meal or serving! I'm glad you saved this post and shared it.

Deep bows
Yugen

Originally Posted by Daizan

Everything I've posted today I've deleted.. .. must mean it is time for a board break. But I'll leave this gentle burp in the church if may, and not delete it..

There is no special wisdom in the subway lady's statement. If anyone said that to anyone else at the kitchen table.. the response would be a mild nod of agreement with the obvious.

There is a really interesting phenomena that was illustrated in a Woody Allen movie called "Crimes and Misdemeanors". Woody plays a documentary filmmaker, and one of his subjects is a professor of philosophy. This professor's output consists of statements like "Everybody needs love". They are perfectly ordinary observations, but Woody is deeply impressed with this man's wisdom. It is not what is being said that makes such an impression. It is the who, the how, and the where, that makes it sound especially wise..... a kind of social context lens. The words were spoken by a professor of philosophy.. with a thoughtful Yiddish accent... in a slow careful way.
So much of Zen seems to be like that.. perfectly ordinary wisdom, the kind that we hear plenty of on a normal day... becomes a dew drop of wisdom when spoken or posted in a Zen context. This is something I have noticed much of lately, online and offline.. and this is not meant as a criticism. It is just seeing and appreciating the magic of Sangha.

All the best to the lady on the subway, and I hope her train didn't take too long.

Gassho
Daizan

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Please take all my comments with a grain of salt - I am a novice priest and anything I say is to be taken with a good dose of skepticism - Shodo Yugen

I love that story (and the Peter Sellers clip)! It seems to me that often we "know" the Dharma, but we may lose sight of it in the day to day. Sometimes particular, regular circumstances, like the woman on the subway, will jar us back to reality.